Spoke-forming machine



June 5, 1928. 1,672,087

T. F. RAINSFORD SPOKE FORMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 28, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 NVENTOR. R FMIYASfFQ/MWD ATTORNEY 5 June 5, 1928.

T. F. RAINSFORD SPOKE FORMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 28, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Worms/Tamara: MM M4 mm A TTORNEY5 June 5, 1928. I 1,672,087

T. F. RAINSFORD SPOKE FORMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY fiym ALQJJWK ATTORNEY. 5

' /0 INVENTOR.

flangsffiwwrmo 1,672,087 T. F. RAINSFORD SPOKE FORMING MACHINE Filed Sept. 28, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 5, 1928.

Patented June 5, 1928.

UNITED" STATES.

PATENT OFFICE. 5

THOMAS F. RAINsFo'an, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO WHITEHEAD AND KALES, INC, on RIVER ROUGE, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN.

SPOKE-FORMIN G MACHINE.

Application filed. September 28, 1925. Serial No. 59,133.

The invention relates to spoke forming machines and particularly to machines of this character automatically operating upon a length of bar metal to successively cut the same into the desired lengths, perforate and shape the same and deliver the spokes properly finished for assembly with the remainder of the wheel.

Among the principal objects of the inven:

tion is that of simultaneously, but separately, performing all ofthe operations necessary to form the completed spoke by employing a plurality of die presses operated in unison. Another object consists in providing a stock feeding mechanism, synchronized with the press operating gearing, and functioning to successively feed, in a step by step progress, a plurality of stock strips, to and past the several die presses.

The invention has also among its objects to simplify, render more efficient and improve generally devices of this character, and these as well as other objects, advantages, and novel details of construction will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein Fig.1 is a side elevation, partly in, section, of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention;

' Fig. 2 is a top plan view-of the machine,

Fig. 3-is an end elevation, certain parts being broken away to show interior construction; I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal seetional side elevational view; certain parts of the machine being omitted for the sake of clear'ness;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional'view, showing the structure illustrated in Fig. A in plan view, certain parts also being omitted for the purposes of clearness;

Fig. 6 is a plan viewof the blank at the end of the first operation;

Figs. 7 and 8 are plan and sectional views respectively of the blank at the end of th second operation;

Figs. 9 and lOare plan and sectional Views respectively of the blank at the end of the third'operation; and

Figs. 11 and 12 are plan and sectional.

views respectively of the finished spoke or the blank at the end of the fourth operation.

Referring now particularly to the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts, it will be noted that the bed 10 of the press is of a length sufficient to support a plurality, here shown as four, die presses and the bed is furthermore provided with a plurality of vertically extending longitudinally spaced apertures arran ed at the sides thereof for the receptiono cross heads 11 to which strain rods 12 are connected, which in turn are connected to cross bars '13. .A rigid but adjustable connection is provided between strain rods 12 and cross bars 13 by means of adjusting nuts 14: and

lock nuts 15. In a construction such as the one herein illustrated, wherein four die presses arev arranged on the bed 10, four pairs of cross heads 11 and rods 12 will be provided together with four cross bars 13. Connected to each cross head 11 by means of a wrist-pin 16is a. connecting rod 16 which in turn is connected to a cam portion 17 of a crank shaft 18. Two crank shafts 18 are provided, each provided with four cam portions 17 to accommodate the four associated connecting rods and supported in longitudinal spaced relation beneath the bed of the press by suitable bearing supporting members' 19. Keyed to each crank shaft 18 is a bevelled gear 20, which. in, turn meshes with a bevelled pinion 21 carried on the end of shaft 22. Keyed to this shaft intermediate its length is a gear 23 which meshes with a pinion 24 carried on a shaft 25 to which there is also keyed a belt pulley 26. The

belt pulley 26 is driven by a belt (not shown), and upon rotation drives gear 23 through pinion 24. Rotation of gear 23 ro tates shaft 22 and consequently bevelled pinions 21, which through their engagement with bevelled gear 20 rotate crank shafts 18. Crank shafts 18 rotate in unison and simul taneously operate through the cam portions 17 thereof and connecting rods 16 and strain rods 12, the four cross bars 13.

Secured to each cross bar 13 is the upper or movable die shoe 27 of the four die presses A, B, C and D, the companion die shoes 28 of the four die presses being rigidly secured to the bed 10 of the press in mating relation to the movable die'shoes 27. As the stock is f d s cess v y hroug he mach n in a manner to be later described, the four die shoes 27 are periodically lowered and simultaneously perform four separate operations on the four pieces of stock then in register with the dies.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that crossbar 13, arranged at the left in Fig. 2, has one end 18" thereof offset so as to form a clearance for the stock strip S fed to the machine transversely thereof. The stock is preferably in the form of a continuous bar and will be intermittently fed into register with the first die press A, in any suitable manner, but preferably by 1nechanisin such as illustrated and described in my copending application, Serial Number 38,- 949, filed Feb. 22, 1925.

Arranged longitudinally of the machine are a plurality, here shown. as two, conveyor bars 29. These conveyor bars extendthrough grooves in the die shoes 28 and are reciprocably mounted and resiliently sup ported on rollers 30 journaled between the furcations of a bifurcated or slotted member 31 slidably supported in a housing 32 which also houses a spring 33 normally holding member 31 and consequently bar 29 in the upward positions substantially as shown in Fig. 4. The upward movement of memher 31 may be limited in any suitable mannor, the means herein shown consisting of a set screw 34 engaging in a slot 35 formed in the wall of member 31.

Reciprocable movement is imparted to conveyor bar 29 by means of a pair of levers 36 having a sliding and pivoted connection at 37 with the ends of bars 29 and keyed at their lower ends to a shaft 88 journaled in brackets 39 carried by the bed of the press. Also keyed to shaft 38'is a lever 40 which carries a cam. roller 41 adapted to engage in a cam slot 42 formed in a cam drum 43, which latter is fixed to a tapered member 44- carried on the end of one of crank shafts 18. The engagement of cam roller 41 in cam groove 42 will, upon a rotation of the cam drum, cause an oscillation of lever 40 and consequently shaft 38, which in turn will cause an oscillation of levers 36 to thereby impart a reciprocatory movement to conveyv or bars 29.

Arranged adjacent each reciprocable conveyor bar 29, and extending substantially the entire longitudinal length thereof, is a stationary companion bar 45. As shown particularly in Fig. 5, these bars, while nonreciprocable, are also resiliently supported to permit vertical displacement thereof, by being mounted on the same rollers 30 as are used to support conveyor bars 29. Conse-, quently bars 45 as well as conveyor bars 29 may be likewise and simultaneously depressed upon an operation of the presses. The purpose of this construction is to permit the bars 29 and 45, to be depressed, during a downward movement of the upper die shoes 27, so as not to interfere with the operation of the presses.

Spaced longitudinally of each conveyor bar 29 is a plu'ality of dogs 46 pivoted thereto as at 47. Each dog 46is provided at its free end with an inclined'surface 48 ending in an abrupt right angular shoulder 49. Each dog is furthermore urged in an upward direction by means of a spring 50, up

of spring dogs 46 and upon reciprocation of conveyor bars 29 moved to the next advanced position.

During the movement of the conveyor bars 29, toward the left as seen in Figs. 4

and 5, the spring dogs 46 willbe depressed upon engagement of the inclined surfaces 48 thereof with the stock S, which will, upon a sufficient movement of the conveyor bars to the left, become lodged behind the shoulders 49 of these dogs. Upon a movement of the conveyor bars 29 toward the right, the

stock strips S will be carried along and over the inclined surfaces 58 of the pairs of stationary spring dogs 53, these spring dogs being likewise depressed to permit of the lodging of the stock strips behind the shoulders 53 thereof when the companion pairs of movable dogs 46 and stationary dogs 53 are in alignment. When subsequently the conveyor bars 29 are again moved to theleft the stock strips will be held in their advanced position by the pairs of stationary dogs 53. Hence it will be seen that upon a reciprocationof conveyor bars 29 the stock will be moved step by step or progressively through the machine, the movement being such that at certain points during its travel, when the stock strip has come to one of its points of rest, it will be in position to be engaged by the die presses for shaping the stock strip S in a manner to be more fully hereinafter referred to;

In the construction herein shown four die presses are provided which perform four operations upon the stock strip during its passage through the machine. By reference to Figs. 6 to 12 inclusive the several steps.

performed by the die presses A to D inclusive and the progress of the stock strip, will be made more apparent.

As mentioned heretofore the stock strip bent up or rim end 58 in a manner substantially as shown in' Figs. 7 and 8. The stock strip S is subsequently moved into a position to be engaged by'diepress O which is designed, upon operation, to impart a Iongitudinal curve 59 to the bent up rim end 58, or in other words, to impart a transverse bow to the bent up end 58 so as to cause the sameto conform to the curvature of the rim of the wheel to which the spoke is to be applied. The configuration of the stock strip upon leaving die press C is indicated in Figs. 9 and 10. Die press D is designed to shape the hub end of the spoke to produce an upwardly and transversely curved end portion (30, see particularly Figs. 11 and 12. Thus, as the stock strip S leaves die press D it has been suitably perforated and shaped to constitute a finished spoke for assembly with the wheel.

Obviously the. particular design of the die presses A to Dare important only in so far as they affect the finished product, which herein is a wheel spoke. Obviously the numher of die presses and consequently the number of operations towhich the stock strip S is submitted, may be decreased or increased according to the desired design and configuration'of the finished article. Furthermore, by retaining thenumber of presses herein illustrated and altering the design of the dies the shape and character of the finished article may be correspondingly altered.

In accordance with the present invention, however, it is possible to feed to'the machine a continuous bar of metal which will subsequently be severed into desired lengths, and intermittently or progressively fed through the machine and into position to be engaged by the several presses. Obviously, after the device has been in operation for a short period, stock strips will be arranged at spaced intervals throughout the entire length of the machine so that upon one complete rotation of crank shafts 18 four separate die pressing operations will simultaneously occur upon four separate stock strips S.

The arrangement of. the two crank shafts 18 at opposite sides ofthe machine and longitudinally thereof, and the operating mechanism which includes the main driving gears arranged centrally of the machine and intermediate the crank shafts, insures a balancing of the parts and an even distribution of the stresses during the pressing operations, as the crank shafts 18 rotate simultaneously and simultaneously impart similar vertical movements to the two longitudinal rows'of strain rods 12, which'in turn simultaneously lower cross bars 13 carrying the movable parts of the presses.

By rotatingv cam drum .43 from one of the crank shafts 18 and properly designing cam groove 43, the reciprocation of conveyor bars may be synchronized with the operation of the presses so that the stock strips S will'be properly positioned and brought to rest in position at the several presses prior to the joperative engagement of the upper die shoes 27. Such a construction insures a continuous and smooth operation resulting in a greatly increased efiiciency and consequently a'maximum production from a machine of a given capacity. v

The stock feeding mechanism which includes the reciprocable bars 29 and the fixed bars 45, affords an efficient and positive means forcontinuously advancing the several stock strips. These strips are aligned and carriedtorward by the reciprocable bars and deposited upon and held in alignment by the tired bars and at the proper points held thus aligned in register with the die presses.

lVhile the invention is herein illustrated and described somewhat in detail it will be readily apparent to those skilled in this particular art that various changes and modifications in the specific form of the invention illustrated may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope thereof andvto this end reservationis made to'make such changes as may come within the purview of the accompanying claims What I claim as my invention is: r

' 1. In 'a die'press, a plurality of die presses, cross bars connected to a movable part of each die press, a pair of crank shafts, means connecting each crank shaft to said cross bars, and gearing for simultaneously rotating said crank shafts arranged therebetween and connected thereto at points substantially intermediate the lengths of the crank shafts.

2. In a die press, a stock feeding mechanism comprising, a reciprocable conveyor bar, a plurality of spring influenced dogs pivotally connected thereto at longitudinally spaced points, a non-reciprocable bar extending parallel to and longitudinally of the conveyor bar and provided with a. plurality of spring influenced dogs similarly spaced. said bars being yieldably supported upon the press and means for reciprocating said conveyor bar for progressively advancing the stock and positioning the same in engagement with the dogs on said non-reciprocable bar.

3. In a spoke forming machine, the combination with die presses, of a stock feeding mechanism, including, a pair of spaced longitiidinally extending reciprocable bars, a pair of companion non-i'ceiprocable bars arranged adjacent to the reciprocable bars and extending substantially the ,entire length thereof, spring influencec dogs pivotally connected to said bars at spaced longiti1di nal points,.mea1is tor reciprocating said reoiprocable bars for successively moving stock strips into engagement with the dogs of said non-recip'rocahle bars and to and past said die presses, and means for simuh taneonsly operating said die presses, said last means and said reciprocating means being synchronized.

4. In a die press, a stock feeding mecha- IllSl'l'l comprising, a recip'rocable conveyor bar, a plurality of spring influenced dogs carried thereon a nonV-reciproeable bar provided with a plnrality of spring influenced dogs, means for reciprocating said conveyor bar. for pro'gressively advancing the stoek and positioning the same in engagement with the dogs on said non-reciprocahle bar,

and siipporting means for said bars permitting a vertical moven'ient thereof. Y

5. In a die press, a stock feeding mechanism con'iprising, a recipro'cable conveyor bar, a plurality oi spring influenced dogs carried thereon, a non-reciprocahle bar provided with a plurality of spring influenced dogs, moans forreciprocating said conveyor hm; "for progressively advancing the stock and positioning the same in engagement with the dogs on said non-reciprocable bar, and resilient guiding and supporting members for said bars permitting a vertical displacement thereof. 7

6. In a spoke forming machine, the ,combination with die presses, of a stock feeding mechanism, including a pair of spaced 10ngitiidin'ally extending re'cipro'cable bars, a pair, of companion non-reciprocable bars ex-. tending siihstantia'lly the full length of said reci 'oro'cable bars, spring influenced dogs pivotally connected to said bars at spaced longitudinal points, and means for reciprocating said reciprocable bars for successively moving stock strips into engagement with" the do s of said non-reciprooable bars L) and to and past said die presses.

7. In a spoke forming machine, the co1nhination with die presses, of a stock feeding mechanism including a pair of spaced r e' cip'rocablc; bars, a pair of companion nonreciprocable bar's, spring influenced dogs pivot-ally connected to said bars at spaced longitudinal points, means for reciprocating said reciprocable bars for successivelym'oving stock strips into engagement with the dogs of said non-recipro'c'able hars,and common means for supporting said bars inalud ing a yieldable member permitting a Vertical displacement of said, bars.

8. In a die press having a table, stock feeding mechanism, comprising, a recipio cable conveyor bar, a plurality of spring influenced dogs carried thereon, a non recip rocahle bar provided with a plurality of spring influenced dogs, means for reciprocating said conveyor bar for progressively advancing the stock and positioning the same in engagement with the dogs on said non-reoip'rocable bar, and anti-friction means. for supporting said bars spaced from the table I I a In testimony whereof I aflix signature;

THOMAS E. RAINSFORD. 

